eDuard Helmbold’s practice explores the roles of nostalgia and shame in the negotiation and production of cultural identities beyond myths of origin and language. He is a white, Afrikaans speaking South African immigrant living in Australia. His exploration of nostalgia and shame in identity production is as much about research as it is about self-discovery and personal emancipation. Drawing on Susan Best’s notion of ‘Reparative Aesthetics’ has served as a conceptual vessel whereby he engages and represents histories in ways that temper shame and allow audiences to engage with some of the difficult and disturbing issues our dark histories carry. Methodologically, eDuard’s practice utilises sculpture and performance. Industrial materials (copper, plastics, rubber, motor-oil) are often juxtaposed with organic materials (cow manure, salt, water, meat) in ways that create works that are beguiling yet abject. Formally this has resulted in three resolved bodies of work: RAKA (UNISA Honours exhibition at SASA gallery (2017, Adelaide), I Acknowledge at FELTSpace Gallery (2018, Adelaide) and Echoes of Ancient Sorrows at Fontanelle Gallery (2019, Port Adelaide). Since graduating from the University of South Australia (BVA-First Class Honours, 2017) he has also participated in international residencies in New York and Indiana, and was awarded the Constance Gordon Johnson Prize for Sculpture and Installation (2016), Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society prize (2017) and the Bendigo Adelaide Bank Award (2018).
